Ascension Catholic Church Visit

advance Catholic Church VisitThe Ascension Catholic Church is located in 2950 North retain City Blvd Melbourne Florida. The close proximity of the perform service from my home enabled me make a overthrow to the church hold up Sunday for the morning mass at 9.30 am. My neighbor who is a member of the church had earlier invited me to visit the church with him on Wednesday evening. He come along apprised me of the churchs dressing code and even suggested that I conform to him to the church. However, since I wanted to get more exposure I declined this offer. Instead, we resolved to attend the Sunday dish out since it had higher attendance from the congregation (Ascension Catholic Community1).The Ascension Catholic Church is a member of the diocese of Orlando that consists of other churches within Florida. The church is located in a serene environment that makes it an ideal pickle for worship. The actual church building has a sitting capacity of approximately peerless thousa nd two hundred people. On the right at the entrance, I dipped my finger and made a constrict of the cross on my forehead in a holy water font. My neighbor assistant informed me that the father had un proceedd the water and this is apply as reminder of baptism. It raise signifies respect as one enters into the house of God amongst Catholic faithful. The same morsel is repeated as faithful exit the church (Ascension Catholic Community1).History of the church and nature of worshippersI was welcomed into the church by members of the welcome team who pathfinder in new parishioners and orient them into the church. This greatly uplifted my spirits and I felt appreciated and acknowledge by the church. The congregation at Ascension Catholic Church varies widely representing all ethnicities and age groups of the community. The church has in that locationfore created several masses to cater for all groups of the congregation. The church has further created special categories of the c ongregation ranging from pre- schoolchildren to junior(a) high schools and teenagers. The adult population consists of special interest outreach groups that cater for disadvantaged members of the society such as the deaf (Ascension Catholic Community1).The deaf ministry for instance, holds special meetings with those with hearing impairments to encourage and nurture them spiritually. In addition, the job searcher beetle ministry consoles those who lose lost employment while in like manner helping them in searching for other preference sources of income. The Vietnamese community on the other throw, helps immigrants to settle comfortably in America. in that location is besides a community of Hispanic Americans and a divergent one for Philippines at the church (Ascension Catholic Community1).The Boy spy movement however, seeks to develop the physical fitness and moral characters of young men in the congregation. Retirees also invite their unique group through which they sh ar ideas and life experiences. Female members of the congregation sponsor days of memory and other social programs and events that benefit the community. The bereavement ministry helps families cope with death of loved ones while also documentation funeral arrangements. The church also collaborates with the community of hope to provide shelter to the impoverished families to build homes. The church also runs a scholarship fund for bright children and uses volunteers to steer most of its day-by-day activities. This further exemplifies the kind and sympathize with nature of most worshippers at the church. For instance, the transportation ministry transports the sick and elderly to church services and hospital visits (Ascension Catholic Community1).Description of the church and significance of the symbols usedAt the front of the church at the pulpit, thither was the bible. However, my friend corrected me that the pulpit was actually known as a lectern and the lectionary as the Cath olics refer to it contains move of the Bible that the father uses to conduct mass. There were different statues in different positions within the church. These statues represented different saints. Moreover, the saints, believed to be in heaven overlook upon the faithful and guide them in their daily lives. For one to bring about a saint, they have to live exemplary lives while on earth and present good examples to others. There was also a statue of Mary holding her baby, deliveryman Christ (Ascension Catholic Community1).In front of the statue, there were lit candles that are a symbol of prayer. I also noticed 14 pictures all measure the walls of the church. These Stations of the Cross tell the story of the suffering and eventual death of deliveryman at the hand of Romans. These stations guide Catholic faithful in prayer during the lent period that precedes the Easter festival. At the front of the church, respite from above there was a cross with a figure on it. This rood-tr ee I was informed represented Jesus crucification on the cross. Some faithful bowed to the crucifix as they entered the church as a sign of respect and adoration for Jesus (Ascension Catholic Community1).At the midpoint front of the church, an altar covered in cloth with candles around it is the main figure. On the left of the altar, there is a baptismal font where baptismal rites take place on occasional basis. In addition, there was a cabinet containing three vessels of oil. One is for blessing and strengthening those preparing for Baptism, another for the sick and the third is used in giving sacraments to the faithful. The tabernacle is used to keep holy Eucharist used in communion. The lamp hanging above this small place further represents Jesus presence in inside the special house. Therefore, the Catholic take the tabernacle to be the holiest place in the church. The Pascal candle is a symbol of Jesus resurrection and is therefore replaced every Easter. Finally, the canopy han ging above the altar represents the time Jewish were wandering in the desert. Moreover, the canopy serves to remind Catholics of their journey with the victor (Ascension Catholic Community1).The actual service and its significanceWe all stood up as an introductory song was sung as the priest and ministers entered and proceeded to the altar. The purpose of this opening song was to transfer our unity as the Mass began. After a greeting from the Father in form of a picayune prayer, we went back to our seats. A group confession of sins followed by singing a hymn earlier the Father closed the first session with an opening prayer that concludes the introductory rites to every mass(Ascension Catholic Community1).In the liturgy, we celebrated Gods word by listening to his message from the Bible. This celebration is essential to deepen our faith and give thanks God for the gift of life. A first practice session came from the Old Testament to embrace the role of Jesus as a link between the past and present. This was concluded with a reflective psalm that also created an atmosphere of prayer. The second nurture came from the book of Mathews to motivate us in facing the challenges of the modern world. The reading reflected our current challenge of electing a new president in the coming weeks and encouraged us to have faith in Gods guidance to make the correct choice (Ascension Catholic Community1).A gospel truth reading from the book of John formed the gospel reading for the Sunday and marked the climax of the liturgy of the word. The oratory taught us that by proclaiming the gospel, we welcome Christ amongst us. Listening to the Gospel proclaimed further reminded us and determine us with the first faithful who heard these teachings from Jesus himself. At the end of the reading, the father proclaimed the gospel of the lord to which we affirmed. After reciting the Apostles Creed, individuals presented their own prayers to the Lord from the altar (Ascension Catholi c Community1).Worshippers then proceeded to give their offerings through a collection basket that went around. All types of gifts were also presented to the altar from a procession that included children. The father blessed these gifts and asked Jesus to accept them on our behalf.The father later conducted a different thanksgiving prayer requesting the Lord through his Holy Spirit to transform the gifts into his body and blood. This epiclesis recalled the last supper when Jesus shared the last repast with his disciples before his eventual betrayal. In a moment of silence, the church remembered the sacrifice of Jesus (Ascension Catholic Community1).The short meditation is crucial to keep his memory by believing in his death, resurrection, and eventual ascension. This memorial further challenges Christians to be ready to make sacrifices as Jesus did while remembering all those who have passed on. Afterwards, church attendants proceed to partake of the holy sacrament that represents Ch rists body while the wine represents his blood that he spilt to save humanity. Public announcements followed before the priest concluded the service (Ascension Catholic Community1).My experienceThe service was generally pleasurable except for many of the prayers that I was not accustomed to reciting. The visit was a revelation and I learnt many another(prenominal) aspects of the Catholic Church. This has consequently changed my perception on Catholics and the presence of statues in their church. I fully understand the symbolization of these and fully appreciate their beliefs. Furthermore, the priest was lively and used real life experiences in relating the sermon to our daily life experiences. I also found the choir extremely wonderful by the hymns they sung and the saltation by little children from the Sunday school. Moreover, the congregation was friendly and very hospitable to visitors (Ascension Catholic Community1).What needs to be improvedThe church should expand the sitti ng capacity to suit more faithful. I noticed some worshippers stranded outside because of the limited seats available. The parking lot should also be expanded to accommodate more worshippers cars. However, these seem not to hinder the congregation visiting the church since all masses are always full (Ascension Catholic Community1).ConclusionI really enjoyed my visit to Ascension Catholic Church. obscure from the spiritual nourishment, I gained valuable insight into Catholic history and beliefs. My interaction with the friendly congregation further encouraged me to make regular visits to the church. Finally, I might just make more visits to the church in future to build on this new learning and spiritual experience. This will enable me to break the routine monotony from my church occasionally.Work citedAscension Catholic Community, 2012. Web. 15th October 2012.